My Wedding: Planning and ceremony details.

Well it really is about time I blogged about this particular wedding as it was my own and it was in April of this year!!! I wasnt sure what to write to start off with as I didnt want to be too over the top about my own event but you know what ….it really was FABULOUS !!!! and AMAZING,ENDEARING,GORGEOUS,FUNNY,EMOTIONAL,BEAUTIFUL,MEMORABLE,NOT AT ALL STRESSFUL.. every single thing that I want all my brides to experience .

Here goes…please indulge me as this will be a long blog. Thank you to the talented, wonderful Darin Fong Photography for the gorgeous images!

The planning was so easy since I do this for a living I just applied the questions that I ask my brides about what they enjoy doing, where they like to visit for a vacation, where they like to eat, their favorite colors,places, memories and then put some ideas together.

ME: I love purple, family and friends are very important to me.I like LOTS and LOTS of details and surprises, I love decorating, the ocean the mountains and all white ceremonies. I grew up drawing and painting and travelling the world . I wanted an intimate wedding with close friends and family and a fun party afterwards for more friends.

CHRIS : Chris spent part of his childhood in Canada, he has played ice hockey since he was a boy and he rides bikes and has done Heli-snowboarding which is insane ! He LOVES being in the snow and spending time in the mountains. He has travelled extensively too and so he loves good food and New Zealand and Argentinian Wines. Oh and his favorite color .. PURPLE.. hey what a co-incidence.

I am so lucky to be a Wedding planner in San Diego.. we have so many amazing vendors to choose from when planning a wedding and after being in the Wedding Industy here for over 17 years I had worked and befriended many incredible people so some choices were easy and some were very hard and I am thankful to all those vendors who offered to help make our day amazing.

Where to begin:

#1.. find an intimate location .. that felt like being in the mountains and was cosy and very private…Look no further than a hidden “reserve” at the Lodge at Torrey Pines or as I like to call it my secret garden. I had always loved that location as we use it alot for preview photos when we do weddings there. It is filled with Pine Trees and the smell of the fire burning in the heart in the lobby .(Just like the times we spent in Vale/Whistler/Idaho and Big Sky!)

This venue hadnt been used much for weddings so with the help of my beautiful, incredibly creative friend LaVonne from Adorations we turned the space into “Springtime in the mountains”. Birch branches lined the aisle, with rosepetals like drifting snow banked up against the chairs, pinecones intermingled with glass hurricanes filled with water and floating white fluffy peonies. To simulate icicles, individual crystals were hung with midori silk ribbons on the backs of the antique white chivari chairs from Concepts and 12 foot strands of dendrobium orchids, crystal strands and silk midori ribbons hung from the trees like snow melting.

At the entrance to the ceremony LaVonne filled tall glass vases with pinecones and placed them on top of two columns that she had custom covered in faux fur, they were topped with enormous stunning florals incorporating roses, hydrangea, sweetpeas and orchids. Five beautiful crytal chandeliers hung around the setting and twinkled in the sunlight it was breathtaking…..

Ceremony music was provided by Michale Gonzales on guitar & vocals and my dear friend Kymm Civette from NRG band sang “At Last” as we all poured four colors of sand into our custom glass vase. We chose our close friend Nita Reierson to officiate and she was truly amazing, so calm and eloquent. My eldest son Aaron walked me down the aisle (a teary moment for me and he was Chris’s bestman) and my younger son Thomas our ringbearer apparently skipped up the aisle. (and down it later) My adorable niece Laura was our flower “fairy and twirled down the aisle with her flower wand and my Lady of Honor was my gorgeous Irish friend Siobhan.

I spent alot of time working on the ceremony afterall we were not just getting married but we were forming a new family. Nita read love letters that we wrote to each other and kept secret until that day and we exchanged rings together and with the boys. In honor of my mother who sadly couldnt make the journey my friend Laura read a beautiful poem by Yates, an Irish poet who was born and is buried in my mothers home town of Sligo, Ireland. Both mothers received a red rose at the end and my sister Oonagh was to bring one home for my mother ( the cat ate it that night.. ! so she took my bouquet back to England instead )

We certainly created alot of heartwarming and tearful moments for our guests and I have to say that when I saw my ceremony site for the 1st time it took my breath away thank you LaVonne for so many surprises and stunning touches..seeing the site and my lovely husbands face were moments I will cherish always.

TIP: Make an effort to make your ceremony as gorgeous as you can on your budget and take the time to design a personal service as both these elements create a beautiful start to your special day and indeed your life together.